


The Vampire Court

by Zelderon



Category: Adventure Time
Genre: Are we calling him "Hierophant" or "The Hierophant"?, Backstory, Gen, Get Pumped for 12 Days of Bubbline 2015!, Pre-Apocalypse, Pre-Mushroom War, Stakes, Vampire Court, Vampire Court Backstory, Vampire King Backstory, Vampires, everyone has a story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2016-01-13
Packaged: 2018-05-03 13:27:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5292779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zelderon/pseuds/Zelderon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even villains have their own stories. Their own hopes and dreams. Their own struggles and failures. Their own nightmares and regrets. Here are the stories of those (un)lucky enough to find themselves in the court of the Vampire King.</p><p>Prologue: The King<br/>“Father, why do we not stay and fight? Surely we are stronger than them, for we are of Leo,” Ashanti leaped onto a rock and bared her teeth.</p><p>New Chapter: The Fool<br/>“Cheer up, Nadir, I’ll tell you a funny story,” Nasrudin said to his quivering little brother. Nasrudin hugged him between his arms and began, “Once there was a man named Mullah whose friend Saif was moving to another village. Before Saif left, he asked Mullah if he could have the one of Mullah’s rings so that he could remember him every time he looked at it.”</p><p>“Mullah replied, ‘But if I give you the ring, you might lose it and forget about me. What if I don’t give you the ring in the first place - this way every time you look at your finger and don’t see a ring, you’ll definitely remember me.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: The King

**Author's Note:**

> The Vampire King is one of my favorite villains of all time (even if his feet were kind of off-putting).

Tuma flicked his ear in annoyance at the fly that had settled on it. He opened one eye and saw that predawn light was already entering the large cavern he and his family currently resided in. Ancient smells still lingered of dozens of long dead lions. There had been more during his father’s time, but the cycle was moving inexorably forward. His father had told him when he was young that Leo would not always be at the apex. Their species was already passing its peak in the timeline and they were now living in the aftermath.

Tuma opened the other eye and surveyed his present home. His mate, Nkiru, was still resting on her side, slowly breathing. Next to her, their three cubs slept peacefully all in a pile. Ashanti was lying on Abioye’s tail and Ayo was draped across his front paws, snoring. Tuma considered going to back to sleep, but Ayo opened her eyes. She always woke early, just like her father.

Ayo slowing extricated herself from Ashanti’s strong front paws, which were circled around one of her own. She was careful not to let her tail brush across Abioye’s proud nose. Tuma rose to follow her as she padded outside. Ayo waited for her father outside and they both walked down to the small stream that ran several hundred meters away from their den.

They walked in silence, enjoying each other’s company while they walked underneath acacia trees and silently glided through the green vegetation that lead to the stream. The savannah was waking up and they could hear birds flying through the brush and the smell of antelope grazing was in the air. The sun hadn’t warmed up the world yet, and there was a crisp, comfortable breeze tickling their fur. As they were walking Ayo suddenly stopped and held up a tiny paw against her father’s muscular chest. She gestured at the air in front of them. Tuma didn’t see anything out of the ordinary at first, but upon closer inspection he saw a thin wire running against the trail they were walking down. Tuma growled and carefully walked up to inspect it. He saw a net covered by leaves and grasses lying beneath the wire. Tuma snarled and backed away from the net. He used his powerful jaws to grab a large tree branch and hurl it onto the wire.

The trap was sprung and the net whooshed up into the air, disturbing the surrounding dirt and vegetation. It swung back and forth a few times before coming to rest.

“Come, Ayo, we must go back to the cave at once. We need to leave this area, now,” Tuma calmly said. 

The pair swiftly retraced their steps back to their home. Nkiru was just waking up when the pair entered the cave.

“Nkiru. Ashanti. Abioye. Man has come to our lands. Ayo found a trap laid by hunters near the stream. We must find a new home immediately. We cannot afford to stay here; it is too dangerous,” Tuma announced, sonorous voice echoing around the cave.

“Father, why do we not stay and figh? Surely we are stronger than them, for we are of Leo,” Ashanti leaped onto a rock and bared her teeth.

“No, daughter. That is a fool’s path. Humans have strange magic. They may not possess strong muscle or sharp claws, but they have their own weapons. Prudence says we move on,” Tuma carefully explained to his brash daughter.

“But father, we cannot always keep running from them. Are we Prey or are we Leo?”

“Enough,” Tuma’s baritone voice boomed throughout the cave, “daughter you know not of what you speak. You are still puerile and foolish. You lack the experience to make wise decisions. You will obey me.”

Ashanti tucked her ears and lowered her head. She jumped off her rock and moved towards her siblings and mother. 

His daughter’s cowed expression made Tuma’s heart soften. “Ashanti, I know you are still young. You have not seen and lived through all the things your mother and I have. Please, just trust us.”

Ashanti sighed, “I know, father. I trust you.”

“Tuma, let us not tarry. It is still early in the day. We will likely need to travel a long way before the sun becomes too intense,” Nkiru advised with her warm voice.

The small pride left the cave and began walking west, away from where they had previously come from. Nkiru walked in the front with Ayo and Ashanti behind her. Abioye walked behind his sisters, near his father who guarded the read of their group. Tuma trusted Nkiru and Ayo to watch for more human traps and to keep Ashanti from surging recklessly ahead. Ayo was able to temper and smooth out the rougher edges of Ashanti’s personality. 

“Father do you believe we may see other lions today?” Abioye asked.

“I am not sure, son. Our species has grown scarce since the time of your grandfather. We may find another pride or we may find nothing but prey. You have only been on this earth for one year. Do not worry, you will see other lions one day,” Tuma answered with his rich voice.

Abioye considered this for some while before asking his next question.

“If we do see other lions do you think they will be white like you and Ayo or yellow like mother, Ashanti and me?”

“That is difficult to answer.” Tuma looked at his white paws that were the same shade as the moon. “White lions are rare. Unless two white lions decide to mate, white cubs only come into this earth by the whims of the gods.”

“Then why did you not find a white lioness to be your mate? Why did you pick mother?”Abioye quickly added, “I mean no disrespect to her, but did you not want to create more of your kind?”

“Abioye, there is no difference between you and Ayo or Nkiru and me. Our coats may be of different hues, but we are all Leo,” Tuma chuckled deeply. “Besides, white does not blend into the Savannah as well as your fur does. You will be grateful for the color of your fur when I take you on your first hunt.” 

The group lapsed into silence and continued walking they reached a small grove of trees. Nkiru left to hunt and scout the area while Tuma stayed behind with the cubs. Tuma carefully surveyed the immediate area around the trees and selected a particularly large one to mark as his own. He couldn’t smell any humans, and Nkiru soon arrived back with a small antelope and news that she too did not detect any.

After the family ate, they took their afternoon nap in the shade of the trees. Tuma could not sleep so he climbed up into the largest tree to survey the land around them. He sat there deep in thought until he felt a tiny weight fall between his shoulder blades. He turned his great head around and saw Ashanti.

“Did I scare you, father?” she asked with a grin.

“Absolutely, I am white with fright.” Ashanti laughed and Tuma continued with a smile, “Ashanti you should rest. We’ve traveled a great distance today and may yet need to travel more.”

“But father I cannot sleep. Ayo was muttering about ‘Impundulu’ again. Of course, Abioye and mother are down there fast asleep, but they could sleep through a charging herd of wildebeest,” Ashanti snickered at her own joke but saw that her father’s jovial face had suddenly become hard and grim.

“Ashanti, did Ayo say anything else while she was dreaming? Think hard, this is very important.”

“I couldn’t make out anything else she was saying. I never can when she dreams of Impundulu. I tried asking her about it once, but she refused to talk about it.” Ashanti paused for a moment and asked, “Father, do you know who ‘Impundulu’ is?”

“Yes, I do. You must listen very carefully, Ashanti. The Impundulu is an ancient vampire who haunts the Savannah. He has the arms of a crocodile and the legs of an osprey. Your sister may be in great danger. You must promise me that you will help me protect her.”

“Yes father, of course.” Ashanti proudly puffed up her little chest. “No one will harm Ayo.”

“Good. Now you mustn’t speak of our conversation. Not to your brother or sister and especially not to your mother. It would not do to over worry them. We can handle this ourselves, right?”

“Yes, I swear to not breathe a word of this to anyone.”

Tuma and his daughter laid in the tree in silence. Soon Tuma could hear the gentle snores of his daughter.

Eventually, the sun began setting and the rest of the family woke from their naps. Tuma signaled to Nkiru that he had to speak with her alone, and they left the cubs by the tree under the pretenses that were going hunting together. They were under strict orders to hide in the bushes until they returned and to immediately run if any threats attacked them. 

Tuma and Nkiru walked until they were out of earshot and out of sight of their cubs. They began walking in a circle like a wheel whose axis was the unassuming shrub that held their children. 

“Tuma, what is troubling you?” Nkiru asked her husband as she nuzzled his neck.

“Ashanti told be that Ayo has been dreaming of the Impundulu.”

“What? Has she been having the same dream as you?” Nkiru asked.

“I do not know. Ayo has been reluctant to tell Ashanti of it. I asked Ashanti to help keep an eye on Ayo. I made Ashanti to swear to me to not speak of it to you, so maybe that will ensure her diligence to the task.” Tuma gave his wife a cheeky grin. “If she truly is your child, then knowing she is acting without her mother’s knowledge will be a fine motivating force.”

Nkiru snorted and gave her husband a cuff with her paw. “But do you think this is serious? You told me the Impundulu has visited your dreams many times, yet that is where he stays. In your dreams.”

Tuma sighed. “I do not know and that is the worst part about it. I do not know if and what I should fear. An old lion once told me that we white lions are the Impundulu’s favored children. I do not know what to believe.”

Nkiru leaned into her mate to give him support. “Well whatever happens, we will fight tooth and claw for our children. Nothing will take them away from us again.”

“Of course, Nkiru. I would lay down my own life for our cubs. The trouble is when enemies use trickery and stealth. A rogue lion is easy to strike down when it challenges you out in the open. A snake in the grass will eat your cubs and escape before you are even aware there is a threat.”

Nkiru and Tuma returned to their children with an old gazelle that they were able to easily kill between the two of them. After they finished eating, the family slept beneath the trees with the cubs nestled in between Nkiru and Tuma. The night was peaceful and the stars shined through the leaves and branches.

The Impundulu visited Tuma that night. As always he dreamt of a great biped with crocodile arms and osprey feet. It stalked a young cub before pouncing and feeding on it. When the Impundulu turned around to face him, it had the head of a lion. Except this time when he looked into the eyes of the Impundulu, a magnificent golden owl appeared. Ethereal flecks emanated from its body and each flap of its wings looked like a dancing flame. The owl screeched harshly, and Tuma woke to bright lights and men shouting. A great net fell over Tuma and he felt a sharp prick like a thorn before he fell into darkness once more.


	2. The Fool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nasrudin wakes up everyday and collects bottles on the streets to support himself and his brother.

“Cheer up, Nadir, I’ll tell you a funny story,” Nasrudin said to his quivering little brother. Nasrudin hugged him between his arms and began, “Once there was a man named Mullah whose friend Saif was moving to another village. Before Saif left, he asked Mullah if he could have the one of Mullah’s rings so that he could remember him every time he looked at it.”

“Mullah replied, ‘But if I give you the ring, you might lose it and forget about me. What if I don’t give you the ring in the first place - this way every time you look at your finger and don’t see a ring, you’ll definitely remember me.”

Nadir giggled through his tears and hugged his older brother back. Nasrudin readjusted the blanket covering him and his little brother to make sure Nadir was completely covered. Nadir was scared of the dark and often cried at night, so Nasrudin was accustomed to telling him jokes and stories to cheer him up. 

“Tell me another story, Nasrudin!”

“Alright, here’s another one. One day, Mulla’s town was conquered by a mighty army. The new conqueror had Mulla brought before him.”

“The conqueror said, ‘I have heard tales of your wit and wisdom from all across my kingdom. I have a challenge for you. Offend me in a way that your explanation will be a thousand times worse than the original offense. Succeed, and I’ll make you my advisor. Fail, and I will have you executed.’” Nadir chuckled at the nasally, high-pitched voice Nasrudin gave the conquerer. 

“The next day, Mulla came to the palace and kissed the conqueror right on the lips.”

“‘What was that!’ exclaimed the conqueror with great surprise.” 

“‘Oh,’ Mulla replied, ‘excuse me. I got you confused with your wife.’”

Nadir laughed and rubbed the tears out of his face. “Please tell me one more story, Nasrudin.”

“Okay, but after this one we’re going to bed,” Nasrudin ruffled his brother’s hair and began, “One day Mulla was traveling with two other men from his town. They stopped at an oasis to eat lunch and rest from the midday sun.”

“One of the travelers bragged, ‘I only eat roasted salted pistachios, cashews, and dates.’”

“The other said, ‘Well, I only eat dried salmon.’”

“Then both men looked at Mulla, waiting to hear what he would say. Seconds later, Nasrudin held up a piece of bread and confidently announced, ‘Well, I only eat wheat, ground up and carefully mixed with water, yeast, and salt, and then baked at the proper temperature for the proper time.’”

Nasrudin looked through the glass-less window at the moon until he could feel the rhythmic breathing that told him his little brother had finally fallen asleep. Nasrudin closed his eyes and let himself relax. Before he fell into a dreamless slumber, he thought he saw a shadow break the moonlight streaming into their room.

Nasrudin woke early from habit. Nadir was still sleeping beneath the blanket when he gingerly crept out of the room. There wasn’t any food in their house, but Nasrudin still made sure there was at least a bottle of clean drinking water next to his brother. He opened his worn backpack and took out some scraps of paper and books that he had scavenged from the dumpsters behind the elementary school a few blocks away from his neighborhood. Nasrudin was sure that someday he would make enough money to send Nadir back to school, so he didn’t want his younger brother to fall behind in his studies. Nasrudin had been forced to sell most of their good school books for food. What they had left in their house were books that no one else wanted. 

Nadir had once begged Nasrudin to let him help him earn money for the two of them. Nasrudin refused. Nasrudin didn’t want to lose his brother. A bomb could go off anywhere at any time, but Nasrudin reasoned their home was safer than most places from such things. Who would want to bomb a neighborhood full of shattered rubble and broken glass? There was nothing left but quiet desperation and people with no other place to call home.

Nasrudin grabbed his father’s backpack and several used plastic bags. He usually spent his days scouring the streets for bottles and cans to sell to the recycling station on the other side of the city. Yesterday, on his way to the recycling station, an older boy pushed him down and stole all his bags of soda bottles and beer cans. He only had enough bottles stashed in his backpack to buy a small bag of crackers which he gave to Nadir to eat.

As he made his way through the rough, narrow streets, the city around him woke up. Vendors with carts lined the streets and were serving their first customers. The smells of fresh bread and meat kabobs used to make Nasrudin drool but he was now used to his ever-present hunger pangs. He made his way to the main business district and started going along his usual route of dumpsters and trash cans. He liked to come here early before there were too many people. Sometimes the police would come and beat trash pickers like him if they were caught in the nicer parts of town. He had a scar on his left forearm from the first time it had happened. There were many signs around that prohibited people from digging through the trash, but he still came every day because most of the safer places had already been claimed by others.

As he was picking through a trash can in front of a luxurious hotel, a pair of tourists walked by. A woman with brown curly hair and pale skin stopped near and had a hushed conversation with her husband in a language that Nasrudin could not understand. They seemed to be arguing about something. 

Eventually, the man conceded and the woman dug around in her fanny pack. She pulled out a wad of bills and held them out to Nasrudin. She said something that he couldn’t understand. Nasrudin was confused and scared. Usually, foreigners ignored and avoided him. He tentatively reached out for the money and quickly stuffed it into his pocket. She smiled and he ran away.

In an alley, he reached back into his pocket and counted all the bills. It was more money than he had made in the entire past 3 weeks. He carefully hid it inside his shoe and ran home as fast as he could. On his way, he stopped and bought a fresh loaf of bread from his brother’s favorite bakery. The baker eyed him suspiciously but accepted his money nonetheless. The smell and anticipation made his stomach growl and his eyes water.

When he arrived at the cracked and stained street he grew up on, the sun was beginning to set. He opened his door excitedly and yelled, “Nadir, I have a special surprise for you.”

His heart froze when there was no response. He dropped all his bags and bolted into his parents’ room where he and Nadir spent most of their time. The cardboard box where they kept most of their things had toppled over. Their little toys were scattered across the floor. Nasrudin bent down and picked up a rusty little toy car that had been Nadir’s favorite possession. There was an odor lingering in the air that reminded him of the nondescript buildings his parents told him to always avoid. The ones where he only saw men in expensive clothes enter and leave. The ones that the older boys spoke of in hushed whispers.

**Author's Note:**

> The Impundulu is a mythical vampiric bird from southern Africa that has the ability to turn into a beautiful young man and summon lightning and thunder. They feed off the blood of both animals and humans, depending on what form they are in.
> 
> White lions are not albinos. They have a recessive mutation on the same gene that causes albinism but it's less severe.
> 
> 12 Days of Bubbline 2015 is coming! It's happening from December 20th- December 31st. Check out the blog page here: http://12daysofbubbline.tumblr.com/


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